Chernobyl Diaries
(2012)

R|
86 min
|Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.

Awards

Reviews & Commentary

The beginning of Chernobyl Diaries makes us believe it will be another pseudo-documentary film in which the characters tape their own adventures (or dis-adventures). However, a few minutes later, we find out that the film was in fact shot on the conventional way, so there will be no need to worry about the drawbacks we have already found in various films made with that technique. Unfortunately, what will worry us is the lack of a good screenplay, of solid performances, or of a competent direction. The result is 86 unbearable minutes of bad actors screaming, failed attempts to scare us, and an incredibly bland and lazy screenplay.

The characters from Chernobyl Diaries don't wake any interest, in part because they are poorly written, and in part because the actors lack of any credibility and presence in their roles. As a result, the characters are so hateful that I wished them to die as soon as possible. And what is more, the plot from this film is totally uninteresting, and Bradley Parker's direction is atrocious. In short, Chernobyl Diaries is a soporific and deplorable experience. And the least I say about the abrupt and improbable ending, the better.

So, in conclusion, it's needless to say that my recommendation is for you to stay away from this pathetic piece of crap. In order to take the bitter taste out of my mouth, I think I'm going to play again the brilliant level of the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in which the ghost city of Prypiat (where Chernobyl Diaries is set) was reproduced with quite a realism. I think it offers, in 15 minutes, the suspense and excitement Chernobyl Diaries couldn't achieve in 86 minutes.